


Watch Your Tongue

by arghthecat



Category: Supernatural
Genre: M/M
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-05-11
Updated: 2017-05-11
Packaged: 2018-01-09 14:27:58
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Underage
Chapters: 2
Words: 8,988
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1147068
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/arghthecat/pseuds/arghthecat
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Prompt: Dean and Gabriel(14-17) are best friend's and Dean spends a lot of his time at Gabe's house. One day he gets introduced to Gabriel's little brother Castiel (8-11) and Dean finds himself very drawn to the young boy. It builds up until one day Gabriel leaves them in the house alone together only to come back to find Castiel pinned under Dean with his tongue stuck down his brothers throat. Understandably, Gabriel flips and throws Dean out for daring to force himself on his innocent little brother.<br/>Skip forward a few years and his 'innocent' brother can't forget about Dean and seeks the older boy out, wanting more from him whilst trying to keep Gabriel out of the loop. (Would prefer Cas to be at least 13 by this point)</p><p>Bonus points for smaller Cas riding Dean's cock with emphasis on size difference</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Hot Heat

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Dean meets Cas for the first time and is instantly entranced.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> It's been years since I've worked on this fic. But I'm working on new chapters! So those of you who liked the fic can finally see it continued.

Gabe runs down the stairs at the sound of the doorbell ringing, shaking the frames along the wall and probably waking his little brother from his nap in the process. He knows who it is before he even opens the door, but looks through the peephole anyway.

He doesn’t have to raise the pitch of his voice too much when he questions the visitor outside. “Who is it?”

Dean rolls his eyes dramatically and drops his bag on the bench just outside the front window. “Don’t be a dick Gabe. It’s cold as shit out here.”

“Well, I never. You just watch your tongue young man” he says in the best high-pitched impersonation of a southern bell he can muster.

“Gabe I swear I’ll fart on your head if you don’t open the door right now” Dean warns from the other side of the door and Gabe cuts his finger on the lock trying to get it open. He doesn’t want to be on the receiving end of one of Dean’s epic releases, but he knows he’ll probably get held down when he least expects it anyway.

He unlocks the door and heads off towards the kitchen, leaving it open for Dean to grab his bag and shuffle inside from the biting winter air. He shakes a bit of the fallen snow that caught him on the way up to the doorway and hangs his jacket on the coatrack before kicking off his shoes and following Gabriel into the kitchen.

“Mom left pizza rolls, hot pockets, and sandwich stuff. Take your pick” he throws at Dean over his shoulder while ruffling through the fridge to find something edible to at least last them a few hours.

“Guess you can make the hot pockets for now. And please tell me it’s not that gourmet new crust crap.”

Gabe shrugs his shoulders and Dean’s pretty sure that all of his taste buds cry simultaneously but he eats it when Gabe puts one in the microwave for him anyway.

They head to the living room where Gabe sets up his Xbox so that they can get in a few rounds of Call of Duty, where Dean goes 35-0, before pulling up his parents’ Netflix account to have an “Adventure Time” marathon. The Ice King is lamenting about not having any new messages when the sound of doors opening upstairs alerts them to Gabe’s little brother Castiel being awake upstairs.

Dean hasn’t met the kid yet; he’d been living with Gabe’s sister and brother-in-law until recently to go to the prestigious academy for the gifted a state over. But, according to Gabe, the strain of being away from his family and not getting to see them for weeks at a time was more than he could take. So, he’d transferred mid-year and re-enrolled in the local middle school an entire two grades ahead of his age level a few weeks ago.

If Gabe’s to be believed, his younger brother is some rare breed of nerd that only comes out of his room when he has to eat and spends his time reading books that even Dean hasn’t come across as a high school sophomore. But he has Sammy and he knows how older brothers can exaggerate a lot of the time. He can’t be as much of a facially challenged odd duck as Gabe makes him out to be.

Dean’s pulled out of his thoughts when he hears the sound of feet padding across the tiled floors heading towards the kitchen and the clanking of dishes being pulled out of the cabinets.

“You use, you wash it!” Gabe yells over their t.v. show and Dean can hear some mumbling of what might be “jerk” before Castiel heads back into his room.

\--

Gabe has to be a bear, or some other type of hibernating animal because as soon as he’s full and “Adventure Time” has gone onto the fourth episode, he’s softly snoring at the other edge of the couch. Dean gets up to turn off the console and tries to find something else to do because he’d gotten tired of watching t.v. anyway. He stalks through the house, getting a good look at the pictures that a splayed out across the fireplace of Gabe and his parents and his two older brothers that are off at college. There are very few pictures of Castiel anywhere to be seen and the ones that he is in are all from when he was a toddler. It’s as if he’s being kept out of sight like he’s some huge secret that can’t be let out and Dean wants nothing more than to get a look at his face to quell his curiosity.

He moves toward the landing of the stairs before his feet and his brain have a conversation and is halfway up before he has the sense to rethink this hastily hatched plan. 

By the time he makes it to the top of the stairs, his heart is beating out his chest and he doesn’t really know why. Sure, he’s sort of sneaking up on Gabe’s little brother, but it’s not like he’s trying to hurt the kid or anything. He tells himself that Gabe probably wouldn’t punch his teeth in if he knew he was in his kid brother’s room without him knowing it and heads towards the door he knows doesn’t belong to Gabriel or his parents. He tries to steady his nerves a bit before knocking lightly on the door.

“Go away Gabriel. You know I don’t like being bothered before noon” comes to reply from the other side of the door. It sounds both parts fond and exasperated because obviously Gabe still hasn’t learned to leave his brother alone. Gabe hasn’t really learned to leave anyone alone for that matter.

Instead of replying and letting Castiel know that he isn’t his brother, Dean goes for knocking again. This time a little more insistent and a bit louder but not enough to wake Gabriel downstairs. He hears the rustling of blankets and the clanking of silverware before the door is yanked open so hard in front of him that he nearly falls in. Castiel is ready to berate Gabriel for disturbing him, mouth already open on an insult, when he realizes that it isn’t his brother standing too close for comfort.

“Oh” is all he says once he realizes his mistake. Just that. Oh.

And in that same moment Dean’s entire body is practically singing oh. Oh my, oh my god, oh my fucking god you’re gorgeous.

Castiel clears his throat and Dean realizes---red and embarrassed---that he’s been staring.

He holds out his hand and Dean has a moment to get a glimpse of long, thin fingers before willing his hormones to chill the fuck out and extend his own hand like they’re both sitting down for a business meeting.

“You’re Dean” Castiel says, more statement than question.

Dean forces himself to meet Castiel’s eyes and it’s not a good idea, probably the worst idea because his mouth goes slack slightly and he can feel his palms getting sweaty where one is still holding on awkwardly to Castiel’s.

“Am I,” he hears the kid start to say when he makes no attempt to confirm or deny his identity. “Am I wrong? Are you not Dean Winchester who hangs out with my caveman brother on occasion?”

“No-no yeah I’m Dean” he responds finally before dropping his hand and rubbing his palms across the seat of his jeans, hoping Castiel doesn't see. But, the motion doesn’t go unnoticed by Castiel who follows his hands behind his back and smiles in response. Something in the air shifts, then and some of the tension bleeds out his body at that smile and the ache in his cheeks alerts him to the fact that he’s smiling a million watt smile right back at Castiel.

“Not that I’m not interested in meeting Gabriel’s friends, but was there something that I could do for you Dean?”

“Umm,” he gets out gracefully as he rubs the back of his neck. “Actually I just wanted to say, well…hi.” His shoulders shrug and his mouth shifts a bit to the side in that way he always does when he really doesn’t have a real reason for whatever he’s been caught doing. Thankfully, Castiel doesn’t know the gesture, yet.

“Well” Castiel starts before opening his bedroom door a little wider revealing a room that’s almost immaculate save for the random books strewn about in odd places and the dishes from his lunch. “Hello Dean.”

There's absolutely nothing inviting or suggestive about the way he says it, but Dean still imagines Cas saying those words to him in ways that might get him locked away and definitely beaten to death by Gabe. 

"Would you like to come in and see what I'm working on?" he asks and Dean wants to. Every cell in his body is begging him to go into the damn room already, but he gets himself in check enough to realize that if Gabe actually caught him missing, in his baby brother's room, with the door closed that he'd probably rip his dick off. He knows Dean too well to even consider it being truly innocent. So, instead of accepting the offer like he so desperately wants to, he turns it down. His refusal leaves Castiel a little shocked and if he's reading him correctly, disappointed. 

Dean doesn't even give him a chance to protest and try to convince him to come have a look at his collection of the complete works of Shakespeare and Poe before he's telling him bye and sprinting down the stairs to the living room. 

The couch is safe. The living room is safe. But even as he headshots two crouching assholes and knifes the sniper that's been taking out his team, he still can't get those two blue eyes out of head. 

Dean tries not to look too much into it when every weekend after they first meet, Cas comes out of his room to hang out. He's slowly coming out of his shell and though he rarely gets directly involved in their activities and stays a comfortable distance away when they're roughhousing, he's always just there. He'd probably follow them to high school next year if Mrs. Milton hadn't already voiced her concern about Cas being with children close to his age and shut down any arguments for skipping ahead any more years. 

Saturday comes and Dean finds himself once again standing at their front door after telling his mom for the third time that morning that he wasn't starting to overstay his welcome. The Milton's love him. 

After playing every video game that Gabe has at least once before it's even five o'clock, the boys decide to beg his mom to let them go see the new horror film that's playing at the local theater. It doesn't take much convincing for her to say yes and an even smaller amount for Cas to put aside his weekend reading and agree to come with. She buys their tickets for them before making sure that they actually go into the theater before heading back home. 

"Go get the snacks and I'll get some seats before we have to sit in front of the screen" Gabe says, pushing Dean and Cas towards the snack bar. "And don't forget the Sourpatch Kids!"

"He's lucky he's my best friend" Dean comments to Cas who's already gotten a spot in one of the shorter lines. 

"He can be a bit much to tolerate" Cas admits as he moves closer in the line, grabbing Gabe's snacks off of the rack and a box of Raisinettes for himself. 

Dean scoffs. "Understatement." 

They spend outrageous amounts of money on snacks and Dean vows to sneak into another movie by the end of the night to get his money's worth before they head back into their movie. Dean can hear the beginning of the movie starting and picks up his pace a bit; Cas moves his shorter legs to keep up, but instead trips over his feet and sends the candy flying toward the wall. Thankful that he wasn't carrying the drinks or popcorn, he bends down to pick up the candy and when he does Dean takes in a shaky breath to stay upright. 

So. 

Much.

Skin. 

Almost endless amounts of pale, unblemished flesh on display as Cas leans over to pick up the snacks and Dean has to stop himself, has to clench his fists open and closed a few times to resist the urge to just touch; to reach out and take. 

Cas stands up and turns around, beckons Dean to come on before they miss any of the beginning, effectively jerking him back to reality. 

Dean isn't sure what's come over him really or why he's so attracted to Cas-whose body is so different from the girls he's found himself attracted to. 

Though there are some similarities between Cas and other girls in his grade-the same pale, skinny limbs and dainty wrists, his face still rounded and prepubescent to the point of almost looking feminine- that's where the similarities end because Dean knows that in four years Cas won't grow breasts like Lisa and that the wrong equipment's between his legs. Unfortunately, his dick hasn't gotten the memo though that Cas is off-limits because it still perks up curiously every time Cas' arm brushes against him in the theater and throbs just a bit when he turns his face into Dean's arm at a particularly gruesome part. 

Dean thinks he deserves a medal though for not running out during a lull in the plot to jerk off in the bathroom stall because Cas is sending his body on high alert; Cas doesn't even know he's doing it, probably wouldn't even know how if he tried.

\--  
He tries to pay attention to the movie and figures that he succeeds enough that if Gabe wanted to babble on about it later he'd be able to contribute to the conversation. 

They don't sneak into another movie (Dean's pissed) because Mrs. Milton calls and tells them that they need to be home before eight o'clock. So, they walk the three blocks back to Gabe's house, the sun still casting odd mixtures of orange and blue across the night sky. 

The silence is comfortable as the round the corner leading up to the cul-de-sac where the boys live, but Cas is the one to break it, startling both Dean and Gabe into nearly dropping out of their skin. 

"I had fun with you tonight Dean" he says and when Gabe flicks him behind his ear he amends "And you too Gabriel." He tacks on "surprisingly" when Gabe's no longer paying attention and Dean snickers. He's rewarded by another one of those rare smiles that he's gotten good at pulling out of Cas.

"Maybe you can come with us next week when we go to the high school football game" Dean offers. 

Gabe quickly throws water on that idea. "Hell no. You're alright Cas, you know for being a snot-nosed little brother, but I'm definitely not being seen with you around high school girls. You'll ruin my street cred." 

If Cas was offended at all by his brother essentially telling him that he was a loser, he doesn't show it because the way he's clutching his stomach and wiping at his eyes is telling a completely different story. Dean can feel something in his chest lighten up at the sound of Cas all out laughing, his ears moving every time another roll of laughter hits. "I'm sorry Gabe, but that's-" he wipes at his eyes again "you have absolutely no "street cred" he finishes with air quotes for emphasis. 

"Course I do. Come on, back me up here Dean." 

Dean chuckles. "Sorry man, I'm gonna have to side with the little dude on this one. Not swallowing your teeth when Victor socked you doesn't actually give you street cred." 

Gabe stops halfway to the house and turns to point a finger at Dean. "We both know that I got a few good swings in before they broke us up." 

"That so?" Cas chirps up. 

Gabe narrows his eyes at him. "Yeah."

"So is that why I overheard mom telling Aunt Rachel that she had to start driving you to school because you were too afraid to take the bus?" 

Gabe flounders like a fish out of water, trying to find some type of decent comeback but already knows that he's not going to live this one down for awhile. 

Dean's howling with laughter, holding onto the Wilson's fence for leverage. "You-you said" he starts barely able to get it out. "Cas, man he said that your-he said that your mom was too afraid that Victor would try to beat him up again on the bus." Cas is still laughing along softly, but there's something in his smile, this particular smile that catches Dean off guard. Cas is looking up at him, all wide-eyed innocence and sweetness dripping from his pleased smile at having successfully made him laugh and all Dean can think about doing is making his lips part in another way. 

Rational thought rears its head for a moment and he quickly looks up to make sure Gabe is nowhere in range to see the look that he's giving Cas right now; the smile's reached Cas' eyes and they're lit up a brilliant shade of blue and Dean's pretty sure that he could get lost if he stood long enough unblinking. 

Gabe ruins the moment though when he yells at them to get down there before they're late for curfew. 

Dinner turns out to be leftover spaghetti from the night before and Cas goes about warming it up for everyone and setting the table like he always helps his mom do. Before he can even get the plates of food set though, Gabe is digging in, and between bites of bread telling Cas thank you before stuffing his face with the freshly toasted garlic bread. He's too caught up in licking marinara sauce off of his fingers to notice that Cas gives Dean an extra helping and an extra piece of bread. 

It's only Saturday, so Dean's parents don't put up a fight when he calls begging to sleep over for the third weekend in a row. He's practically moved in and carved out his only little space in one of Gabe's drawers for last minute sleepover decisions. 

A check isn't even necessary for him to know that he needs a shower so he quickly grabs his things and heads down the hall before Gabe hops in to take one of his outrageously long showers. He resolutely does not look to the left when he sees Cas' door open and shuts the door, checking twice to make sure that it's locked. 

They stay up for another hour talking about the "hot new ninth grader" that's just transferred in from a county over, but if Gabe notices that Dean's heart isn't quite in it, he doesn't mention it; he's too caught up thinking about the way Cas' pajama pants rode low on his hips and how his shower mussed hair had stuck up at odd angles in some places and slicked to his head in others when he'd come into the room tell them both goodnight. 

Dean's drifting, slowly drifting in and out of images of Cas in just his pajama pants, and then just his briefs when Gabe snaps his fingers in his face to send his fantasy off in a puff of smoke. "'Course I'm listening" he tells Gabe when he accuses him of not paying attention to him talk about slim, long legs. And if he's thinking about jet black hair and slender fingers as Gabe continues on…well, what he doesn't know can't hurt him.

\--  
“Shit” Gabe swears as he jumps off the couch, knocking over the bowl of popcorn in his lap. “Shit, shit, shit.”

“What the hell, Gabe?” Dean asks as he gets off the couch himself and watches Gabe run around pulling on his shoes.

“I forgot-” he starts as his voice is muffled by him hurriedly pulling on his sweatshirt. “I forgot that I’m supposed to drop off that application at the game store in the mall in like-” he checks his watch “fuck, twenty minutes.”

The local game store is at least thirty minutes away and there’s no way that Gabe is going to make it there on time. “Dude, there’s no way you’re making it there in twenty” Dean tells him and ignores the dirty look he gets in return. “Isn’t your mom gone for the next three hours anyway? How’re you even gonna get there?”

“Ugh!” Gabe says. “I don’t even know man. Maybe they’ll let me turn it in after the cut off time.”

Gabe’s never been lucky and Dean knows that he’ll be making the trip over only to be turned down, but it probably wouldn’t hurt to try.

“You want me and Cas to come with you?” Dean asks and tries to tell himself that he’s not secretly hoping that Gabe says no.

“Nah, I’m just gonna ride my bike and hope my legs don’t freeze to death on the way there.” Gabe’s already heading towards the side door to get his bike out of the garage. Dean hears it being lifted and Gabe yells “Tell Cas I’ll be back in an hour” before skating off. Dean lowers the garage door and heads back inside.

Dean’s never been in Gabe’s house by himself, or anyone else’ house for that matter, and doesn’t know what to do without Gabe’s constant hysterics to keep him occupied. He watches the Star Trek: Next Generation marathon on the science fiction channel and even plays a little Rock Band, complete with bad singing, before he’s bored out of his mind. First person shooters aren’t really fun when he can’t make Gabe look like a noob and he’d call his mom to pick him up early if he wasn’t stuck looking out for Cas in the meantime. 

He’s not really watching Cas though because he hasn’t come out of his room since he’d said goodnight the night before and hadn’t even come down to get breakfast. Dean’s tempted a few times to go up and check on him but after getting to know Cas, it’s obvious that this is what he does when he doesn’t want to be bothered.

There’s nothing to do outside either, but it’s a lot better than sitting in the quiet of the house so Dean grabs his leather jacket and heads out the door to sit on the porch swing. A strong breeze picks up as soon as he gets to the swing and he realizes that he’d forgotten to bring his gloves from home; he stays out there anyway though watching the cars pass with faceless stranger after faceless stranger.

The same red truck comes to the end of the road three times, seemingly at a loss as to how to get to its destination before Dean hears the jiggle of a door handle and the click of the lock being locked and unlocked. The door is yanked open, the now gentle wind still managing to push it open even farther, revealing Cas who’s bundled from head to toe in the most ridiculous black puffy coat that Dean’s ever seen. It’s buttoned up to cover his mouth and all that’s visible is his blue eyes and tufts of black hair.

Dean really does try to hold back a grin, but he’s sure that stronger men would’ve caved at the sight. “Jeez Cas, it’s not that cold” he says as he scoots over to make room on the swing.

Cas unbuttons his jacket a bit and pulls his fingers free of his black gloves, wiggling his fingers as the cold air hits them. “I saw how strong the wind had picked up earlier and thought that it would be a lot colder than what it is.”

“Yeah, I thought I was gonna freeze my balls on when I first came out.” Sometimes Dean forgets, that Cas, despite his intelligence and maturity, is still a typical ten-year-old who finds even the most simple things funny. So he’s only slightly surprised when Cas starts laughing when he says “balls.”

His laughter peters off and he Cas around for a moment, eyes scanning down the street. “Where’s Gabe?”

“Idiot forgot that he was supposed to turn in an application at a specific time and he ran out. Told him he’d never make it” Dean offers in explanation. Cas rolls his eyes, probably thinking about his brother’s usual lack of responsibility before going silent again.

Dean starts to swing them a bit, Cas’ short legs swaying with every movement and Dean tries hard not to think that it’s the cutest thing that he’s ever seen. They’re both holding on to the edge of their seat and the slight jerking of the swing as it shifts to the side causes Cas to fall into him, their fingers brushing. Dean’s sure that it’s only his imagination when Cas’ pinky finger curls around his before he shifts away.

They sit out there for another fifteen minutes, Dean telling Cas about his brother Sam who’s around the same age. Cas listens attentively, nods his head in agreement whenever Dean talks about how much of a pest brothers can be like he’s old enough to be anything more than the annoying brother himself.

“And then Gabe held me down and put his hands over my mouth and blew air up my nose while Michael and Luke watched” Cas finishes as he recounts the many times Gabe would torture him. The look on his face is so indignant and reminiscent of Sam’s petulant pout that Dean can’t stop his hand before it reaches up to ruffle Cas’ hair. He’s sure that if Gabe were there even he wouldn’t be able to miss the way his hand lingers longer than necessary or how Cas’ whole body freezes under the touch before relaxing into it. His hand trails down, slowly down Cas’ head while he still tries to rock the swing unsuccessfully, until it reaches his neck. Cas hasn’t pulled away yet and it surely has to be a sign that he doesn’t want Dean to stop, but he does anyway, patting Cas awkwardly on the back and clearing his throat to break the moment.

Cas shifts restlessly in his spot, body swaying to some imaginary tune for several minutes before he hops off the swing and heads towards the door. He stops with his hand on the doorknob and turns towards Dean who’s staring at him curiously.

“Want to come see the Science project I’ve been working on?” he asks and the randomness of it catches Dean so off guard that the first thing that comes out of his mouth is an emphatic _yes_.

It’s only once they’ve made it up the stairs, Cas stripped of his jacket and clad only in a pair of sweatpants and a t-shirt that clings to his slender frame that Dean has the good sense to wish that Gabe would never have left him there alone with his little brother.


	2. Mistakes We Know We're Making

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Turning back was never really an option.

Cas pushes open his door and Dean knows that this is his last chance to back out and head back downstairs. He knows that he could throw out a believable enough excuse for why he can’t be up there and Cas wouldn’t think anything of it. But instead of following the voice in his head yelling at him to turn around and wait for Gabe in the living room, he crosses the threshold into Cas’ room and shuts the door behind him. 

Cas heads over to his bed and kicks off his shoes to store under the bed while Dean stands awkwardly in the middle or the room, trying to think unsexy thoughts that don’t include covering Cas’ small body with his own. 

It doesn’t help though that Cas doesn’t know what he does to Dean. It helps even less that his complete naivety is causing him to unintentionally drive Dean out of his mind as he leans over the side of his bed to grab his school bag. Dean can just make out the line of Cas’ boxers and for the briefest of moments entertains thoughts of whether or not Cas wear boxers or briefs before the sound of a zipper and Cas rustling through the bag snaps him back to reality. 

Dean takes off his jacket and lays it across the back of Cas’ computer chair before heading over to his bed and plopping down on the edge. 

“So you said something about a Science project” he says as he places his hands under his thighs to keep them from doing something stupid. 

Cas is still grabbing papers from his bag before laying them out on the side of the bed opposite Dean. He walks around the other side of the bed before kneeling next to Cas who seems to be very carefully arranging the papers in a specific order. 

“This is your Science project?” Dean asks and it must’ve been the wrong thing to say because Cas’ head whips his way and the glare he levels at Dean could burn right through if he never lets up. 

He finally turns away with a roll of his eyes. The movement familiar after spending so much time with Cas and Gabe together. “Yeah this is my Science project. I’ve been working on it for a long time” Cas tells him. 

Dean can tell that he’s a little annoyed with him, but Cas can never stay mad at him for long. His point is proven when they fall back into a comfortable silence, Dean no longer feeling like Cas is going to kick him out until Gabe gets back home. 

They’re quiet for so long that Cas startles him when he starts talking; his voice suddenly too loud in the quiet of the house. 

“Have you ever heard of the Golden Ratio before? Cas asks him as he fiddles with each of the pictures on the bed.  
Dean doesn’t even try to lie to seem like he’s ever heard of it before he shakes his head in Cas’ periphery. 

“Well it’s a special number that appears in geometry, art, and architecture and other areas as well and it’s basically said to yield the most pleasing shape.” 

“So what exactly does that have to do with all these pictures?” Dean asks because he’s really not getting at all why there are pictures of Brad Pitt and Halle Berry in front of him. 

“I didn’t really want to do a project on storm resistant roofs or building a model submarine that’d float. I always did projects like that at my old school and I wanted to do something that I thought could be fun” he says, using air quotes around fun for effect. 

“That and the fact that I’m only one of three people who are entering a project into this category at the school helps too.” 

Dean can hear the smile in Cas’ voice before he looks over and sees the tiny uptick of his mouth. He nudges Cas’ shoulder with his own, then. Suddenly a little proud at Cas because it’s a pretty genius way to win an award. “Ha! I knew you were just like Gabe trying to find the easy way to win.” 

“Hardly” Cas scoffs. “This project really has taken me a long time since I’ve had to wait to get proper permission to do a project with human participants. And don’t even get me started on the number of people who said they’d do it and backed out as if five minutes of their time was so much to ask.”

“Alright, alright, calm down” Dean tells him as he puts his hands up in a defensive gesture. He tacks on a sarcastic “sorry” and he can’t say he wasn’t expecting the smack the back of the head that Cas gives him. He makes a show of being hurt while Cas tries not to crack up beside him. 

“Project, remember?” Cas asks him after he finally gets himself under control enough to ignore Dean who’s still trying to distract him. 

“Fine, no fun. Got it.” Cas rolls his eyes but otherwise ignores the jab. “Ok, so why do you have these pictures again?” Dean’s pretty sure Cas never explained in the first place but they’d gotten so off track that he can’t actually remember. 

“Right” Cas says as he gets up from his spot on the floor and grabs a pencil and a book to write on from the desk. 

“So, you get that the ratio is supposed to yield the best shape, right?” Cas questions and waits for Dean to nod his head in agreement before moving on. “Well it doesn’t just apply to buildings and art and Math but to people too, or so they say. A lot of people believe that the most beautiful people are actually so beautiful because their faces fit the golden ratio. So I figured that I’d do a project where I’d find celebrities whose faces fit the supposed “gold standard” of beauty and some who don’t to see if it really has an affect on people’s perception of beauty.” 

“Still making sense?” He asks before handing a form over to Dean with the book and pencil. 

“Yeah, I’ve got it” he responds. 

“So, do you want to help me out? I mean I only need one more participant and I figure you’d be perfect since you’re here already and you wouldn’t flake out like everyone else and I mean I still have a lot of time to find someone else if you don’t want to do it. I know Gabriel should be back any minute and I don’t want to take up any more of your time” he rambles on.

Dean chuckles at the idea of Cas being nervous that he’d ever say no to him before asking him what he needs to do. 

“It’s really simple actually. All you have to do is rank the following people based upon how beautiful you think they are. Just take a quick glance at them. I don’t want you to take long at all.” 

It takes Dean about five minutes because he gets stuck on whether or not Chris Pine or January Jones should take slot four. Cas pushes him and tells him to get on with it and January wins out in the end. 

Cas explains to him how he’s going to calculate the data in the end and really most of it goes over Dean’s head. He’s not bad at Math by any means, but graphs and lines and ratios tend to sound like a foreign language that he can’t seem to master. 

Cas is putting everything back in his school bag and stuffing it under the bed so Gabe can’t get to it when he goes to make a quick run to the bathroom. He tries to be quick about it, not wanting to waste any of the time he has left with Cas before they’re interrupted. 

When he gets back to the room he finds Cas spinning idly in his computer chair and he takes a moment to stand near the door and just watch before he’s caught. It doesn’t take long for him to be spotted and Cas immediately stops the spin pattern he seems to have going on when he notices Dean leaning against the wall. 

“Havin’ fun?” Dean asks him. 

Cas smiles at him, a flash of teeth peeking out momentarily. “Loads” he shoots back. 

“So what are we gonna do until Gabe gets back” he asks, not really sure that there’s anything to do besides watch t.v. since Cas isn’t really into any of the games he and Gabe play. 

“I don’t know” Cas responds and it sounds suspiciously like he’s stalling but Dean knows it’s really him projecting. “Maybe we could stay up here?” The question comes out so tentative and unsure and it’s so unlike the Cas he’s come to know in the last few months. He’s never been shy ever since he’d started hanging out with them more often, always bodily inserting himself wherever he saw fit even when his brother didn’t want him there. 

“Cas you don’t even have a t.v.” Dean tells him as he comes to stand in front of his chair. “And I know that I definitely can’t help you with the rest of your project.” 

“No, yeah, well you said that. I mean just, maybe we can hang out up here just you and me.” 

Dean’s gearing up to say no because he’s getting a sneaking suspicion that he knows what this is, what exactly is going on and he has got to stop it before it goes any further, but Cas pretty much does him in when he looks at him with those too big eyes. He wonders if Sammy’s been giving him pointers. 

“I have this book of poems that I’ve been wanting to show you ever since I got it from the store last week, too” he says and Dean can spot a bullshit excuse when he sees it. He’s the king of bullshit excuses and he’s a little insulted that Cas thought that he could use one on him and he wouldn’t notice. 

But instead of telling Cas no like he knows he should. Instead of walking away he says “Yeah...yeah ok.” 

\---------  
It turns out that there really is a book a poems, a book of really sappy poems that makes Dean feel weird even having read them. But if that’s what it takes to get that soft and fond smile to stay on Cas’ face, Dean’s willing to read them for Cas as many times as he’d like. 

Cas directs him to a few specifically to read and when Dean asks him to read a few he declines and tells him that he’d rather him do it because he likes the sound of Dean’s voice. It wouldn’t do any good to try to examine what that could mean so Dean ignores any and all possibilities and just reads until Cas’ heart’s content. 

Neither of them are aware of the time passing, Cas curled up in a ball and radiating heat from where he’s almost touching Dean from the side. He’s seemingly content to just rest his eyes to the cadence of Dean’s words until the lights in the room turn off and he hears Dean mutter fuck. He opens his eyes to Dean hopping off of the bed and digging under it in search of his shoes. 

“What’s going on?” he asks as he lifts himself up from the bed. 

Dean’s grabbing his jacket and stuffing his feet into his shoes before Cas can even completely remove himself from the bed. 

“Power blew out. I’m gonna go out and check to see if we blew a fuse” Dean says before stringing up his admittedly worn black and white tennis shoes. 

He’s almost out of the door before Cas grabs onto his arm. “Here, take this” Cas says as he quickly glances out of the window. “It’s getting pretty bad out there, you’ll at least need a scarf. I’d give you my gloves, too, but mine are way too small.” 

Dean wraps the scarf around his neck, already starting to feel the chill catching throughout the house before heading towards the stairs. “Thanks Cas, I should be back in like ten minutes. No opening the doors for strangers” he yells up the stairs and only barely manages to miss the shoe that Cas throws at his head. 

There snow is starting to fall a little harder when he gets outside and he tries to make it quick because he’d like to keep all of his fingers if he can help it. The fuse is definitely blown and he’s not sure if it’s just their house or if the entire block is without power but he does know that the next few hours are going to suck without any heat. The Novaks don’t even have a fireplace to keep warm in case a situation like this happens. 

He must’ve accidentally locked the door on the way out because instead of being met with a slightly warmer house, the wind is still biting at his cheeks and nipping every inch of exposed skin it can find. He rings the doorbell twice to no answer and then resorts to banging on the door because it has to be the coldest day they’ve had all winter and he’d really like to not be in the thick of it. 

He’s thankful that his phone is still in his pocket and calls his mom, hoping that she could come and get them but that dream is shot down when she tells him that they’re nowhere near each other and it’d take awhile for her to get there. 

Breaking and entering is his next and only option left before the door finally, finally opens and Cas is pulling him in and breathing like he’d just run a marathon. 

“Sorry! I was using the bathroom and couldn’t hear the doorbell or your knocking” Cas apologizes and he sounds so damn sorry that Dean feels guilty for getting stuck out there in the first place. 

“Come on Cas it’s ok.” He moves to take off his jacket but thinks twice of it before zipping it back up. He’s rubbing his hands together, trying to get rid of the pins and needles assaulting his fingertips. He’s so lost in the action that he doesn’t even notice Cas get into his personal space and grab hold of his hands, blowing on them and squeezing them tight in an effort to get the blood flowing. 

“Really I’m ok” Dean reassures him. “Just gotta get the feeling back that’s all.” 

He moves towards the stairs and Cas obediently follows the air getting a little warmer as they go up but not much.  
“So the fuse is definitely blown and I wouldn’t even know where to begin looking for a fuse in this house.” Cas can’t help but agree because his dad claims to have some sort of system for where he puts things, but no one has been able to figure it out just yet. “It’s looking like we’re stuck in the cold for awhile. I called my mom and she said they’re all over at my grandparents right now, so they can’t even pick us up.” 

They make it to the second floor and Dean stops by Cas’ door as he passes it and heads to the end of the hallway. There he gets two heavy blankets that almost swallow his tiny frame and quickly decides on a third because of how much he despises the cold. “Better warm than freezing” he says and it comes out a little muffled where his mouth is pressed against the tower of blankets. Dean grabs them out of his hands when he gets closer and they quickly make the bed, tucking in the edges to keep out the cold. 

Cas jumps in, quickly claiming his side and beckoning Dean to join him or freeze his balls off. 

He likes his balls, a lot, and decides that he can be under the covers with Cas and behave himself in order to keep them nice and in tact. He’s glad to have brought his good, thick socks to help battle the temperatures and tells Cas as much. 

The bed is only so big for the two of them, their bodies touching no matter how far away Dean attempts to get and after awhile he just stops fighting it, just let’s the pull of Cas’ body grab hold. 

They lay there for a long time not talking, slowly becoming more tangled up in one another as the minutes pass. 

Cas, as usual, is the one to break the silence. 

“Dean?” he asks and Dean can sense that sliver of unsureness that was present earlier. 

“Yeah Cas?” 

“I was--I was wondering and you don’t have to tell me if you don’t want to but I was wondering, what do you do when you really like someone?” 

A million thoughts run through Dean’s head right then but the only one he can focus on is that Cas likes someone. Some girl was finally smart enough to snare him and he knows on some level deep, deep down that he has absolutely no right to be jealous of that. 

“I umm, well I just tell her I guess. I’m not really one for beatin’ around the bush” he tells him because it’s true. He’s never had a problem getting anyone that he wants because not knowing if they want you back is a lot worse than the brief sting of rejection, so he always just goes for it. 

“Why do you wanna know, Cas? Finally got a girl you like?”

“No, no it’s not---well it’s not a girl that I like just, Gabriel never talks to me about these kinds of things and I figured I should know how to talk to them by now right?” 

“Not necessarily. I didn’t ask a girl out until way later than you, so you don’t have to rush” Dean advises him. He hopes that he doesn’t sound too much like he’s trying to talk Cas out of this crush on some nameless, faceless girl that he’s already starting to hate. 

“I’m not rushing” Cas defends. “I just want to know. Just like, how would you do it. How would you go up and talk to her?” 

Dean turns his body fully to Cas then, not really sure what he’s looking for but finding something anyway. 

He shuffles a bit closer then, his breath only a hair away from Cas’. “If I want a girl, like really want her” Dean starts “I look at her, just like this.” He levels Cas with the same stare that has made many a girl meet him outside the gym during their Exploratory classes. He doesn’t miss the way Cas’ breath catches at the intensity of it. 

“Then, since I already know at this point what she likes, I just start making conversation with her, more often than not it’s in the hall during class changes. It’s neutral ground. And by this point if she hasn’t told me to just leave I know that I at least have a shot at getting her to go out with me.” 

Somehow in the midst of him talking Cas’ hand has come up to sit on Dean’s chest, the digits so tiny in comparison to the expanse of it. 

“And what do you do once she says yes” Cas questions, his fingers starting up a figure eight pattern and leaving Dean’s skin alight. 

“You’re a smart kid, Cas. I think you know what happens by then, yeah?” 

Cas goes to shake his head, but Dean stops him, his self-control finally snapping and it was a valiant effort, honestly. He gave it everything he possibly could have but the way that Cas is touching him has broken down every defense he’s had and there was really never any stopping them from getting here. 

He leans over and takes the leap for them both because he’s the older one, and it somehow feels right that he’s the one to bring them down to this. 

Cas’ lips are nothing like he’d imagined. They’re not as soft as he’d thought they’d be, a light roughness catching from where he’s obviously bitten them and they haven’t fully healed. He laves at them, soothing away the hurt that he imagines is there. He licks across the seam before forcing his way in, not willing to wait for Cas to open up and Cas practically melts around his tongue. His mouth goes slack and he’s slightly stunned before he finally manages to come back to himself. The sound that escapes Cas is absolutely wrecked when Dean’s tongue tangles with his own and Dean moans around the delicate sweetness of it, dripping with innocence and light. 

He’s so caught up in the way Cas’ bottom lips catches between his own that he doesn’t even notice Cas’ hand instinctually finding the zipper of his pants, but he has sense enough to stop him before he goes any further. 

“Wait, Cas, just, shit wait.” It takes everything he has to pull Cas’ hand away but he does it. 

“What? Why?” Cas asks, confused. 

“You” he takes a breath “Cas you don’t know what you’re doin’.” 

“Maybe not” he agrees “But you could teach me, right?” 

If it weren’t for the fact that Cas was trying to get his fingers on his dick, Dean would so buy the act that he’s pulling, but he knows better. 

“Don’t be cute” he admonishes and is rewarded with a tiny smirk. 

“I’ll make it good” Cas whispers as he leans back in for a kiss. “They’ve always said I’m a fast learner.” 

He uses the distraction of Dean getting lost in his mouth to quickly unbutton Dean’s pants and he’s just about to climb on top of him when he hears his bedroom door open. 

He can’t move. He knows theoretically that he could move, but he can’t. His body is plastered to Dean’s side where he’d fallen after hearing the door and he cannot move his legs, can’t move his lips from Dean’s, can’t move his hand from Dean’s freaking pants. 

Dean for his part doesn’t seem to be having the same trouble. In one moment he and Cas are like the beginning and the end, made to fit so that there couldn’t ever have been a time when they weren’t sharing the same air, and the next Dean’s off him like he’s made of molten lava. 

“What the fuck are you doing?” Gabe bellows and who knew he could even make his voice sound like that. He’s staring at Dean like he wants to kill him where he stands, like one look cut him open if he only focused hard enough. 

“Look man I can explain” Dean tries. He does want to explain, but can’t think of anything besides wondering how Gabe managed to get back in that weather. 

“Explain? You gonna fuckin’ explain why if I hadn’t come back home when I did you were gonna fuck my brother? My fuckin’ baby brother?”

Cas, who’d been quiet the entire time finally speaks up. “It’s my fault Gabe! I’m sorry, it’s my fault. Please don’t be mad at Dean.” He sounds dangerously close to crying and Dean can’t not look back to make sure he’s ok. He’s so obviously not ok though, shock bleeding into genuine terror at the situation unfolding in front of him. 

Dean should’ve seen it coming, but he was so caught up in trying to make that look disappear from Cas’ face with sheer force of will that he was distracted. 

It doesn’t really register at first that he’s just been punched for all he’s worth until the pain sets in. 

“Gabriel!” Cas screams from behind him at the same time he yells “Holy fuck! What is wrong with you?” at the boy in question. 

“What’s wrong with me?” Gabe yells incredulously. 

“Dean you know my family is off limits. I told you no for Anna and so you go to my eleven year old brother? You’re fuckin’ sick, man.” The words sting, cutting Dean just as they were meant to because he knows that he’s sick. There’s no doubt in his mind that everything he’s done with Cas is wrong. 

Dean’s never seen his best friend so angry before, though --and he should stop calling him that right now--didn’t even know that he could throw a solid punch. But the thumping in his face is telling him that Gabe actually does have a decent right hook. 

He’s about to plead his case one more time before Gabe socks him again and ok, this has gotten old already. He can already feel the black eye forming. 

Gabe is coming at him again, knocking over the computer chair blocking his way, before Cas jumps in the middle of them. 

“Stop! Stop it _please_!” 

Cas is crying, harsh sobs escaping as he tries to hold Gabriel back from trying to start a collection of Dean’s teeth. He could fight back, really he could but he doesn’t really have any moral high ground to stand on and justify any punch he were to throw. 

“I’ll go” he gets out and just talking is making his entire face hurt.

Gabe is absolutely fuming when he says “Get the fuck out Dean and if I ever catch you even looking at Cas again I’ll call Luke and tell him everything.” 

Dean nods his head in agreement, his eyes averted and unable to see Cas’ tear streaked face again before he cautiously grabs his things, putting on his jacket and shoes and buttoning his pants on the way down the stairs. 

The last thing he hears as he turns the lock on the door, on his friendship, is the sound of Cas yelling at Gabe to get out and the slamming of his door. 

There’s a cab waiting outside with Gabe’s bike hooked on the back and it makes sense that Gabe was coming to borrow cab fare from Cas. He unlatches Gabe’s bike and sits it at the curb and hops in the cab, promises to pay both fares, and is driven away from two of the most important people in his life, knowing that nothing will ever be the same.


End file.
